JACKSON, Mich. (Feb. 26, 2019) – The final push is on to restore power to the remaining 3,200 Consumers Energy customers affected by fierce high winds that whipped across Michigan Sunday, causing interruptions to nearly 130,000.
“This wind storm caused widespread outages across our state but favorable weather yesterday coupled with a full complement of employees, from customer service representatives to line workers, contractors and mutual aid employees from six states worked diligently to bring the lights back on as quickly as possible for customers,” said Guy Packard, vice president of electric operations for Consumers Energy. “We remain grateful for the patience of our customers as we complete work today,” he said.
The majority of the remaining affected customers are expected to have power restored by 6 p.m. today, while in some remote areas restoration may take until 11 p.m.
Customers who are still without electric service this afternoon should report the outage by visiting www.ConsumersEnergy.com/OutageCenter or calling Consumers Energy at 800-477-5050. They also can sign up to get outage alerts and restoration times sent to a phone, email or text message, Text ‘REG' to 232273, or visit www.ConsumersEnergy.com/alerts.
While storm restoration is nearly complete, Consumers Energy urges the public to keep safety tips in mind:
- Be aware of the potential for downed electric lines. If you see a downed wire, stay at least 25 feet away and report it by calling 9-1-1 and Consumers Energy at 800-477-5050.
- Never use a generator in an attached garage, basement, enclosed patio or near any air intakes. Doing so could cause a generator to produce hazardous levels of carbon monoxide, an odorless, colorless and deadly gas.
- Be alert to utility crews working along roads. Drivers should slow down or stop and wait for oncoming traffic to clear so they safely can go past workers on roadsides.
- Consumers Energy will trim or remove trees interfering with electric restoration activities. Once safe to do so, clean-up of debris from tree trimming or removal during a storm emergency is the responsibility of individual property owners.
- In some cases, the mast which holds the electric service wires to a customer’s home or business may have been damaged or torn away. Crews will reconnect the wires to a home, but only a licensed electrician can repair or replace a mast or a cable.
Consumers Energy, Michigan’s largest energy provider, is the principal subsidiary of CMS Energy (NYSE: CMS), providing natural gas and/or electricity to 6.7 million of the state’s 10 million residents in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties.